Radio Taiwan International
Date: 02 July, 2020
By: Paula Chao

The Transitional Justice Commission has concluded that the 1981 death of Taiwanese democracy activist Chen Wen-cheng was likely a case of murder. The commission wrote its findings in a report released on Thursday, the 39th anniversary of Chen’s death.

The Transitional Justice Commission was set up in 2018. Its purpose is to investigate the actions of the authoritarian KMT government between 1945 and 1992. Its findings contradict the authoritarian government’s claim at the time that Chen’s death had been a suicide.

Chen was an associate professor at Carnegie Mellon University and an advocate for Taiwan’s independence. He was found dead on the campus of National Taiwan University after a night of interrogation by the now-disbanded Taiwan Garrison Command. Along with Chen’s case, the commission has been reviewing evidence of government surveillance and politically-motivated murders during Taiwan’s period under martial law from 1949 to 1987.    [FULL  STORY]